Oceania madison titles for NZ cycling pairs
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The Australian visitors fought back in the sprint, but the Kiwis claimed the endurance events on the penultimate day at the UCI Oceania Track Cycling Championships at the Grassroots Trust Velodrome in Cambridge on Friday night.
Leigh Hoffman, who won the silver medal at the world championships last year, showed his strength and class to dominate the men’s keirin final.
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The South Australian, who won the individual sprint, powered past New Zealand’s Sam Dakin on the final bend to claim the final in impressive fashion from fast-finishing young Kiwi Jaxson Russell and Australian Tayler Ryan.
There was an upset in the women’s event, with young Australian Alessa McCaig dashing home with the final sprint to pip world champion Ellesse Andrews on the line in the final.
Andrews, in her first competition of the year, showed her early-season strength to power to the front but was just pipped by the Australian in her first competitive race of the year.
McCaig was part of the Australian women’s team that won the bronze medal in the team sprint at last year’s world championship.
The New Zealand team of Bryony Botha and Prue Fowler dominated the women’s 30km madison to win on 50 points ahead of the Keystone combination of national squad riders Sophie Edwards and Rylee McMullen on 31, with the Australian national pairing of Nicole Duncan and Maeve Plouffe third on 27 points.
New Zealand’s men’s endurance riders ended the programme on a strong note, with the Whoosh pairing of national squad riders Keegan Hornblow and George Jackson winning with 82 points in a close battle, ahead of the NZ pair of Tom Sexton and Marshall Erwood on 70, with Australians Liam Walsh and Blake Quick third on 55 points.
In under-19 action, the New Zealand trio of Hazel Gardner, Minne Collins, and Lily Cameron won the gold in the women’s team sprint final over Australia Gold trio of Milan Bradshaw, April Kat and Paige Squire.
The South Australian combination of Oliver Ward and William Brown dominated the under-19 men’s 30km madison, winning eight of the 12 sprints to finish on 57 points, from Queenland’s Lachlan Walters and Sam Hilditch on 33 and New Zealand’s Riley Crampton and Lachlan Stewart on 23.
New Zealand’s Neve Mckenzie and Mia Pepper claimed the women’s under-19 15km madison, winning four of the six sprints to score 49 points from Canterbury’s Shaylah Sayers and Kily Keast on 21, and Madeline Bell and Lily Cameron from Te Awamutu Cycling on 14 points.
The competition concludes on Saturday.